In part 1, Daniel Imhoff explains the historical roots of the federal Farm Bill, arguably the single, biggest piece of legislation that effects land use in the U.S., and as he himself notes, most average citizens know little about this important bill.
The current farm bill is a 90 billion dollar federal program that supports our industrial food system. Roughly half of this money goes to food and nutrition programs, such as school lunches, and programs to serve the poor, while most of the remaining half goes toward the support of the large commodity crops: wheat, grain, cotton, rice, and soybeans.
This 2007 interview with Daniel Imhoff, author of Food Fight: The Citizen’s Guide to the Food and Farm Bill is as relevant today, as when first published. With the 2008 Farm Bill up again for renewal in 2012, the stakes remain high on whether the next bill will support more specialty crops (food crops intended for direct human consumption). or a continued emphasize on commodity crop production whose products are used mainly in processed foods, and to serve export markets.
Read the full article here: http://cookingupastory.com/a-conversation-with-dan-imhoff